Small Donors Play Major Role in Several Candidates’ Third-Quarter Fund-Raising Surges

In recent years, Barack Obama, Howard Dean and Ron Paul all earned accolades for their ability to harness the internet’s power to collect substantial sums from people making small campaign contributions.

This year, individuals who donate political pocket change continue making waves in some high-profile races.

And campaigns on the right and left have benefited from the enthusiasm of small donors. Some politicians rolling in the dough from small donors are Tea Party favorites. Others are liberal firebrands. And still others are somewhere in between.

Small donors have the potential to help them all, as people who donate to a candidate, regardless of the amount donated, become invested in a candidate’s success. One of the most effective ways for a politician to raise cash from small donors, regardless of party affiliation, is to have a national profile.

Take, for instance, the following examples:

Republican Sharron Angle, the former Nevada legislator who has ridden a wave of Tea Party enthusiasm as she battles Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), raised $7.6 million from individuals giving $200 or less during the third quarter — 53 percent of her overall war chest, according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of recently filed campaign finance documents.

Angle’s $14.4 million in receipts between July and September was the largest third-quarter fund-raising haul among all Senate candidates, according to the Washington Post. Through September, Angle has now reported a total of $17.9 million in receipts for her Senate bid against Reid — and 55 percent of that, or $9.9 million, has come from small donors, the Center found.

Of the contributions Reid received between July and September, just 12 percent, or $247,000, came from small donors, the Center found.

Another rising Republican star who has raised significant sums from small donors is Marco Rubio, the former Florida House Speaker whose U.S. Senate bid caused Republican Gov. Charlie Crist to drop out of the Republican primary and run as an independent.

Between July and September, Rubio reported $3.8 million in total contributions. Roughly one-third of that sum, or $1.2 million, came from small donors. Since he launched his campaign, Rubio has collected $5.8 million from individuals giving $200 or less — or about 36 percent of his $16.1 million in overall contributions.

Similarly, in Delaware, Tea Party darling Christine O’Donnell, who knocked off Rep. Michael Castle in a Republican U.S. Senate primary last month, raised $2.6 million from people giving $200 or less between late August and the end of September, according to the Center’s review of her most recent campaign finance filings. That represented 69 percent of the total $3.77 million she raised during that period, the Center found. Since she began her Senate bid, O’Donnell has now raised $2.7 million from small donors out of $4 million in total receipts — that’s nearly $7 out of every $10 she’s raised.

O’Donnell ended September with $2.6 million still in the bank — twice as much as her Democratic rival, Chris Coons. Coons raised about $1.5 million between late August and the end of September, and ended the third quarter with $1.3 million cash on hand. The exact percentage of contributions Coons received from small donors was not yet available from the Federal Election Commission as of press time.

Some high-profile House candidates are also attracting small donors.

Sophomore Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), chair of the House Tea Party Caucus, was the most prolific fund-raiser in the third quarter among House candidates, according to the Washington Post. She reported $5.04 million in receipts between July and September. Fully two-thirds of that amount — $3.3 million — came from individuals who gave $200 or less, according to the Center’s review of campaign finance documents filed on Friday. Since January 2009, Bachmann has now raised $9.6 million, and 52 percent of that sum, or $5 million, has come from small donors.

Bachmann’s Democratic opponent in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District this year, state Sen. Tarryl Clark, has also successfully tapped small donors for big financial gains. During the third quarter, Clark boasted the second largest fund-raising haul among House candidates, according to the Washington Post. Of the $1.48 million in total receipts she reported for the quarter, the Center found that more than $825,900 came from small donors — or 56 percent of her total contributions. That’s the same percentage she’s raised from such donors since she began campaigning for Congress. Through September, Clark reported raising a total of nearly $3.9 million since her congressional bid began. Of that amount, about $2.2 million has come from small donors.

In Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, Allen West, who has gained notoriety for being a black, Tea Party-embracing Republican candidate, reported $1.16 million in contributions during the third quarter — another top sum among House candidates. Nearly $4 out of every $10 he raised came from small donors. Between July and September, West reported collecting $445,700 from small donors, or 38 percent of his overall amount, the Center found. For the cycle, West has reported raising nearly $5.2 million, and 40 percent, or more than $2 million, has come from donors giving $200 or less.

Also in Florida, in the state’s 8th Congressional District, freshman Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson, known for his YouTube-friendly rhetorical torrents against Republicans, was another top fund-raiser during the third quarter. He reported more than $1.1 million in receipts between July and September, with 60 percent of that amount, or $660,500, coming from small donors. His re-election war chest now contains more than $4.1 million, and the Center found that 58 percent of that sum, or $2.4 million, came from individuals giving $200 or less.

Some campaign finance experts and reformers have advocated for affordable broadband nternet connections, as well as other changes, to help more candidates tap small donors, who often make their contributions online.

The Federal Election Commission requires donors who contribute more than $200 to be disclosed by campaigns and committees — with detailed, itemized records of their names, address, occupations and employers. Give below that amount, and federal rules allow politicians to report your contribution as part of an aggregate sum, along with other “unitemized” contributions on campaign finance documents.

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